They Built the House, She Built the Space to Live

Thinking about the gap between design that creates a feeling of being part of a house and design that feels like being separate from it raises the obvious question: What is “good design,” anyway? It is not merely an exercise in superficial aesthetics but an evocation of feeling, driven by the unique responsibility to shape the human experience within four walls.

Sarah Gallop, the founder of SGDI—an award-winning design firm offering interior design of custom homes and home renovations throughout the greater Vancouver area—prides herself on knowing when “enough is enough.” To her, that feeling of sensing when a room is fully expressed is the basis for how she approaches the empty space from the start.“When I’m looking at the house overall, I’m picturing the project finished in my head, so I can make that determination,” she says.

When she was brought in by Deep Dhillon, Vice President at Axis Real Estate Solutions and Tony Paul of Pinora Enterprises Ltd. to design what would become the VGH & UBC Hospital Foundation’s Millionaire Lottery home in Tsawwassen, it was mid-architectural design. This enabled her to provide input and suggestions on the layout early-on, which then impacted the function and flow of the interior spaces.

“We wanted this home to have a more contemporary layout.”

And from there, an entertainer’s dream was created. With a bar adjacent to the family room, a wine display wall on the main floor by the stairs, a rec room with pool table, second bar and second wine room on the lower floor, and two-sided fireplace feature at the bottom of the basement stairs, it’s a home that’s begging to be filled with gatherings.

And then, Gallop played with textures. This included wallpaper and paneling throughout the home, something, she says, is a “modern take on paneling with cleaner lines.” The textures and patterns serve to create a multi-sensory experience that allows the home to feel artistic and eye-catching without becoming overwhelming.

Design, as Gallop explains, may seem like a small part of the overall picture of building your home, but the design dollars are the most important because when spent properly, they ensure that your dreams can be built right.

After all, a house is just four walls until you walk in and it feels like something else, be it a place of rest or a place to entertain; it’s home.